


Poor Puzzled Moon

by Vanessa_Cocotea



Category: Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996)
Genre: Adventure, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-27 08:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/976668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanessa_Cocotea/pseuds/Vanessa_Cocotea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From 2011: Part Three of my Berkeley Square Series</p><p>The Doctor and Grace try again. The Doctor nearly gets thrown out of a very important wedding and he and Grace get arrested, courtesy of one of the Doctor's "Bright ideas"...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poor Puzzled Moon

**Author's Note:**

> When I started this one, I had the idea that the Doctor and Grace should find themselves near a riot and run the risk of being mistaken for two of the protesters and getting arrested for nothing. I couldn't decide what should cause the protest. Current events provided a wonderful subject.
> 
> This is only my third story involving real people. I hope I've been properly respectful.
> 
> The Doctor's and Grace's little "worry" about the wording of the ceremony is taken from my own similar concerns. To say, "man and wife" or - for that matter, "woman and husband" makes a person sound like a possession - which people aren't and never should be. That's why I prefer "husband and wife". Still, as I said in the story, that was a small blip in what was truly a fairy tale wedding, IMO.

The Doctor looked at Grace and enquired, 'Have you ever heard the expression - "Third time lucky", Grace?'

'Of course, I have. Although, in America, it's usually worded as "Third time's the charm". But it means the same thing. Why?' She suddenly looked sceptical. 'Or don't I want to know?'

'Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace! Of course, you want to know!' He beamed at her, dangerously. 'Because THAT'S our next destination!'

'OHHHH!' Grace had caught on immediately. 'Doctor, you redefine "determined", you know that!' He grinned at her. She sighed. Still, the idea was more than agreeable. 'When do we get there?'

The Doctor made a face. 'Umm...five minutes - give or take.'

'AHHHH! You, sadist, you!' She dashed for the wardrobe room. The Doctor smiled. He knew she'd find something exactly right, even though he hadn't told her the specific reason for their going to London again. It wasn't just to have a trip there that didn't involve various accidents and such. The Doctor had a specific occasion in mind. While Grace was changing, he checked to see that he had the necessary paperwork...

********

Grace emerged from the wardrobe room wearing an aqua suit with a "five-gore" skirt and carrying a matching straw hat. She smiled at the Doctor, 'I feel a wild need to look particularly "English" - especially, if we're going to the Ritz again.'

'Grace, you look charming!' The Doctor smiled in approval. 'And, yes, I believe the Ritz will definitely be on the agenda, at some point.' That mysterious smile was back - leaving Grace totally baffled. 'Good! We're here.'

********

This time, they did NOT land in a "public convenience". The TARDIS had landed in an obscure corner of St. James's Park. However, as Grace realised when they exited the TARDIS, it was still dark outside. She looked at the Doctor in confusion and with eyebrows raised. 'WHAT have you got planned that we'd need to get here while it's still dark out for??'

He tapped the side of his nose and said, 'You'll see.' Grace sighed. She'd learnt long ago that where the Doctor was concerned, one needed to just "go with the flow".

'So, what do we do till whatever it is that you've got planned starts? Surely, we aren't just going to wander the streets of London for the next few hours, are we?' She looked alarmed. 'Please tell me, your plans DON'T include anything NOW??'

He smiled. 'Actually, wandering round London now, just might be a good idea. Be a bit tricky later on. Come on! Let's take a wander, shall we?' Grace was thoroughly confused and just gave up and nodded. This trip was likely to be just as "eventful" as the previous two. Little did she know...

********

Firstly, they walked round the park, then the nearby streets and just talked. The weather was quite nice for late April, though the Doctor said it might rain later on. Grace was glad that she'd remembered to bring her Burberry along. That and the Doctor's umbrella would keep them just fine...

Their walk proved to be just as instructive as in 1942. The Doctor imparted all manner of information about a number of buildings. He was just to about to impart some interesting little gems about another building, when they turned right and ran straight into a "lively" and very noisy protest march...

There was so much noise and milling about that Grace could not make head nor tail of what the fuss was all about. However, the Doctor had a strong suspicion. Then, courtesy of his keen eyesight, he spotted a placard or two. His suspicions had been correct. But then, he spotted the police making arrests - and not always getting people involved with the protest. Worse, a few of the officers, in the process of arresting people, were heading in the Doctor's and Grace's direction...

'Grace,' The Doctor said quietly, 'I think we'd best get moving if we don't want to get arrested.' He took her hand and started to move the pair of them away.

'What...?' Grace started to ask why, when they heard an officer shout, 'STOP!' They turned and saw the officer say something into her radio. The Doctor brought them sharply back round the corner and, using his sonic screwdriver, let them into a pub that had closed hours before. The officer looked up to see that the two people were nowhere in sight. 'What the...?' She searched the area without success. She shook her head, wondering how they could have disappeared so quickly and so thoroughly...

In the meantime, the Doctor and Grace were just catching their breath when they heard a sharp male voice cry, 'OI! What's your game?'...

Grace and the Doctor looked up to see a young man standing in a doorway at the back of the pub. He glared at them, then disappeared back through the doorway and reappeared with a broom with which he gestured menacingly.

The Doctor spoke quickly. 'Please, we aren't here to rob you or to harm you. We thought the place was empty. We were just trying to avoid getting arrested for something we didn't do. The protest march outside, you see...'

The young man gave a laugh. 'So you avoid getting arrested by "breaking and entering" into me dad's pub, eh?' He laughed again. 'Very clever.'

'Ah, yes. Well, sorry about that. As I said, we were just trying to avoid getting caught with the protesters. And, if you look, you'll see your door isn't damaged in the least.' The Doctor grinned at him.

The young man looked at the undamaged door in amazement. 'What? How?'

Grace spoke for the first time. 'If you could just let us wait here for a bit, we'll explain everything. All right?' She smiled disarmingly at the man.

The young man considered. 'Well, you people seem okay. I suppose it couldn't hurt. Come in the back. You can explain while I finish counting the empties. Fancy a drink?'

'That would be most kind, Mr...ah?' The Doctor began.

'Manning, Ernie Manning.'

'The Doctor, and this is Grace - Dr Grace Holloway.' "Please-to-meet-yous" were exchanged and the three sat down and, over tea for the Doctor and Grace and a beer for Ernie, talked...

********

The Doctor smiled at Ernie. 'As I said, we didn't expect anyone to be up and about.'

Ernie grinned back. 'Can't say as I expected ANYONE to come bursting into the pub at this hour - let alone two well-dressed people such as yourselves! I woke up in the middle of the night and realised I hadn't counted the empties. Reckoned I'd best get up and do it.'

The Doctor replied, 'We're here for the day's "festivities". NOT something we'd want to miss, so we wanted to get here quite early, but I hadn't quite planned on THIS early!' The Doctor chuckled.

Grace, looking miffed at apparently being left out of the conversation, piped up. 'You know, Doctor, you STILL haven't told ME what we here for! I suspected before we left that it was something other than just to have a trip to London that didn't involve accidents and other "difficulties".' She looked at the Doctor, who looked down at his tea cup, then back up again and said, 'You'll find out soon enough. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't guessed already.' He grinned at her.

'Is it something to do with that protest going on? Because that was no help. I haven't got your excellent night vision and I couldn't make out a thing, what with all the noise and stuff!' She then said, completely baffling Ernie, 'What year is it? And what date?'

Ernie interrupted her questions with a few of his own. 'What year?? What date?? Where are you people from, anyway?? And how did you get into the pub without damaging the door??'

The Doctor sighed and began answering the flood of questions, starting with Ernie's question about how he and Grace had got in.

The Doctor smiled at Grace as he said, 'You see, I'm something of an inventor and I've created what I call a "sonic screwdriver". It can do all manner of things, including opening doors, using sound vibrations.' He started to get the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket to show Ernie, when he seemed to remember something. Instead, he took out his fob watch and checked the time. What he saw made the Doctor go slightly pale. 'Gracious! Is that the time? I'm terribly sorry, but we've got to dash or we'll be late!' He got up and grabbed Grace's hand, nearly causing her to topple her tea cup. 'Thank you so much, Mr Manning, for your assistance, but we must dash!' Barely giving a puzzled Grace time to say her thanks, he pulled her out of the pub. Outside, the Doctor hailed a taxi. When it arrived, he leaned in and whispered to the driver and appeared to show him a piece of paper. The driver smiled and nodded. The Doctor hurried Grace into the cab and they drove off.

Grace glared at the Doctor. 'What was THAT all about? I barely had time to say thank you!'

'Sorry, but we have to be where we're going by 11am. And as there will be quite a crowd, we'll need to get there very early.'

'Doctor! I'm not getting out of this cab till you tell me where we're going! Just what IS the date, anyway?' Grace demanded.

The Doctor smiled. 'It's the 29th of April 2011. Does that ring a bell? I was rather hoping to get there and THEN tell you. I keep forgetting how impatient you can get.' He chuckled.

Grace gaped - for more reasons than one. 'HOW did you swing THAT??'

'Oh, I know a few people here and there.' He grinned at her. 'Good! We're here!' They got out and the Doctor paid the taxi driver. There was quite a queue already. They were walking towards the queue when the Doctor spotted someone. He took Grace's hand and they hurried over as the Doctor cried, 'ROWAN! How are you, old chap?'...

Grace recognised "Rowan" immediately. However, before she had a chance to say anything, the man came over to them. 'Doctor! Good to see you again!' He smiled at Grace, then looked back at the Doctor. 'Still finding the most charming of ladies, I see!' Rowan lifted Grace's hand and kissed it. 'At your service, Ms?'

'Doctor, actually. Doctor Grace Holloway.' She smiled. 'Pleased to meet you! I love your work!'

'Thank you!' He turned back to the Doctor. 'Fancy seeing you here. How did you get an invite?'

'Oh, I know a few people here and there. And you? How did you get one?' The two men discussed the honour of being invited to such an auspicious occasion for several minutes, till Rowan was waylaid by another acquaintance and took his leave.

'Whoah, Doctor!' Grace breathed. 'How did you meet him??' She paused. 'Wait. Don't tell me. You know a few people here and there. Right?'

'Something like that.' He grinned. 'Here, you'll need this.' He passed her invitation to her.

She stared at it in awe. 'Never thought I'd ever get one of these and be standing in a queue to Westminster Abbey!' She leaned over and brushed the Doctor's cheek with a grateful kiss. 'Thank you, Doctor!'

'My pleasure!' They talked with other people in the queue until they were to get their invitations checked. Then the trouble started...

********

The Doctor and Grace had approached the security people checking invitations and such. The gentleman checked Grace's invitation and waved her through. But when the Doctor passed his invitation to the security person, he was held back for a moment. Grace waited hesitantly a few steps beyond. The Doctor looked puzzled and asked what the problem was. His invitation was in order and his appearance was immaculate. His shoulder-length chestnut hair was beautifully curled and his green velvet frock coat was newly made and freshly cleaned - in fact, his appearance was straight out of the proverbial "bandbox". He couldn't think what could be wrong.

The security guard answered his and Grace's unspoken question. 'Well, sir, your invitation is in order. However, gentlemen were instructed to wear either morning suits or lounge suits. I'm afraid, sir, that your attire is neither. I'm not certain I can let you through.'

The Doctor was crestfallen - for about two seconds, until he remembered he'd forgotten some of the necessary "paperwork". He reached into an inner pocket of his frock coat and smiled. "I'm terribly sorry! Do forgive me. I forgot to give you this.' He passed over a small card. It was his UNIT ID and had his current self's picture on it.

The security man took one look at it, then at the Doctor - who grinned broadly, and said, "Sir! I'm terribly sorry! I didn't realise! Please! Do go through!' The Doctor replied, 'That's quite all right!' He smiled and the security guard waved both the Doctor and Grace through into Westminster Abbey.

Grace grinned. 'Well, THAT was a tense moment! What did you give him that did it?'

The Doctor grinned back. 'My UNIT ID. I'm glad I remembered to update the picture. I'm also glad they didn't contact UNIT. I haven't been their Scientific Adviser for a while now.'

'Tsk Tsk! Naughty! But clever!' Grace considered. 'Although, I don't see why your frock coat couldn't be considered a form of "lounge suit". You look so elegant that I can't believe they'd make a fuss!'

'Thank you, Grace!' He executed a swift bow. 'Still, it's best to be prepared. One never knows what could be a problem.' The Doctor chuckled. 'You know, this is the first time I've had any "sartorial" difficulties with this incarnation.' He offered Grace his arm. 'Shall we go in?'

'Let's!' She smiled as she took his arm. They went in and looked in awe. The Abbey was transformed. Trees lined the aisle and there were flowers in abundance. But THAT was nothing compared to the bride herself and the ceremony...

********

While they waited, the Doctor and Grace looked at their programmes and talked amongst themselves and with the people either side of them.

'I can't WAIT to see her dress!' Grace whispered excitedly to the Doctor.

The Doctor softly chuckled and whispered back. 'You know, I reckon that subject has acquired more attention than anything else about this wedding!'

'As well it should!' Grace replied back, in a slightly teasing manner. 'It's all important what the bride wears.'

'Maybe she'll do something wildly different, such as dressing like a pastel pirate or something.' The Doctor teased back.

'DOCTOR!' Grace quietly hissed back. She was about to say something else, when it was time for the ceremony to start...

********

The was the usual hush and then, Ms Catherine Middleton, on the arm of her father, began her walk down the aisle in Westminster Abbey. There were quiet gasps of delight at her beautiful wedding gown. She was followed by her sister, Philippa, in a lovely bridesmaid gown of her own. Both women looked stunning. The young attendants were utterly charming, the two youngest bridesmaids holding hands with Philippa as they walked down the aisle.

Grace breathed. 'She's beautiful! And that gown is fabulous!'

'Yes, she is, isn't she?' The Doctor agreed. 'And that is indeed a lovely dress.'

Then all was quiet as the ceremony began...

********

The ceremony was as beautiful as the bride herself. The selection of music was magical, particularly the inclusion of "Jerusalem" - which found both Grace and the Doctor mouthing the lyrics as the choir sang.

The Doctor and Grace were somewhat disappointed that the bridal couple were pronounced "man and wife" and not "husband and wife". But that was a small point in what was truly a fairytale wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and the prince - in a dashing red tunic, and his new bride looked blissfully happy.

Then as the new couple made their way back down the aisle, Grace got an unbelievable surprise - at which she barely managed to keep her composure! She was sitting to the Doctor's left and had wrapped her arm round his and was leaning her head against his shoulder, when the new Duke and Duchess passed by them and, looking directly at the Doctor and Grace, gave them a very slight smile and nod! The Doctor and Grace responded in kind. The Doctor took the situation in his stride, but Grace had a very difficult time keeping her composure! Fortunately, she succeeded - at least, until they got outside the Abbey...

Outside the Abbey, Grace stared at the Doctor and breathlessly, but relatively quietly, exclaimed, 'Wow!'. Then she grinned and said, 'I'm not even going to ask how THAT happened! I'm just going to remember it forever! Thank you, Doctor! This is an amazing day!'

The Doctor smiled. 'You're very welcome, Grace! And the day is not over yet! Shall we make our way with everyone to the palace?'

'Oh, definitely!' Grace grinned broadly, thinking, as they started to walk, that this trip just might be flawless...

At Buckingham Palace, the crowd waited anxiously for the bride and groom to emerge. The Doctor and Grace had been able to get surprisingly close. Grace waited mostly for the hoped for kiss - as did virtually everyone else - including the Doctor. He was a first class romantic and he had to admit, he was as interested as everyone else in that kiss.

And soon the wedding party came out on to the balcony. And not long after, the crowd's patience was well rewarded. The newlyweds gave the crowd not one, but TWO kisses! The crowd was immensely thrilled! The Doctor and Grace were both well pleased and grinning broadly. They simultaneously exclaimed, 'YES!', then looked at each other and laughed. They were also quite pleased when Prince Charles lifted up the youngest bridesmaid so she could see! The tiny girl had been nearly hidden by the balcony surround!

After that, the crowd was reluctant to leave and most hung round talking, as did Grace and the Doctor. And again, everyone's patience was rewarded when suddenly, the royal couple emerged, with Prince William driving his bride away in his father's Aston Martin - all decked out for the newlyweds. It was another treat to make the day even more memorable...

********

When the Doctor and Grace had finally extricated themselves from the crowd, they decided to head for their favourite area of London. Funnily enough, it was Grace who suggested they have tea. However, the Doctor even more strangely suggested they go somewhere else first.

Grace, completely amazed at the Doctor's apparent refusal of his favourite beverage, enquired, 'YOU don't want tea?? YOU, the greatest tea-drinker of all time, want to do something else!' Grace couldn't believe her ears.

However, she was actually relieved when the Doctor replied, 'Nononono! It's just this morning, while we were having a wander, I happened to spot a little out-of-the-way teashop in this one side street. Fiona something. I'd rather like to try there for tea. Besides, before we left the TARDIS, I made reservations at the Ritz for dinner and dancing tonight.' He grinned at Grace's surprised face.

'Doctor, you NEVER cease to amaze me!' She smiled. 'Fiona something's it is then!'

"Fiona something's" turned out to be a charming little teashop that also sold chocolates and crumpets and was called, "Fiona Alpentea's". The Doctor and Grace went in and were welcomed by Fiona herself...

Fiona Alpentea was a charming young woman, about Grace's age, with waist-length curly red hair, pale blue eyes and a delightful sense of humour. As soon as she had seated her guests, she noticed Grace's wedding programme.

'Oh My Gosh! You've actually BEEN to the wedding?? I watched it on the television in the back. Wasn't it amazing?! It must have been incredible to have actually been in the Abbey!'

'Yes, it was quite an amazing experience!' The Doctor smiled at Fiona.

Grace added, 'And the dress was unbelievably beautiful! And the kisses! That was a treat and a half!'

Fiona boggled. 'KISSES?? PLURAL?? I only saw the one. Some customers came in just after the one kiss. They really kissed more than ONCE??'

'Yes, they kissed twice! It was quite lovely!' The Doctor replied. 'Quite lovely!'

Fiona said in awe, 'I wish I could have been there.' She heard a whistle. 'Oops! There's the kettle. I'll be back with your tea!' And she dashed for the kitchen...

********

They asked Fiona to join them for tea and crumpets, which she happily did. The Doctor and Grace related their wedding adventure to a wide-eyed Fiona and she told them about her shop and her unusual surname. It had originally been "Alpenty", but when she decided to open a teashop, she decided - just for fun, to change it to "Alpentea". They told her that was quite clever and that they liked the change. Fiona also told them she had two assistants, to whom she had given the day off, so they could be in the crowd outside for the wedding and so she was running the shop alone that day. The Doctor and Grace said that was very kind of her and they hoped she hadn't been too rushed off her feet! She laughed and said it had been rather quiet due to the wedding, so she was doing just fine. Just before they left Fiona's, the Doctor bought out Fiona's remaining current stock of her handmade dark chocolate truffles with peach filling. He and Grace had tried one each and had found them irresistible! They said their goodbyes and left to go back to the TARDIS to change for dinner, then to have a walk round Berkeley Square before their evening at the Ritz...

********

When they emerged from the TARDIS, Grace and the Doctor looked fabulous. Grace was wearing a light lavender, sleeveless, jersey evening gown with a draped neckline, a wide, embroidered, cummerbund-style, "self" belt and an ankle-length a-line skirt - very similar to the light blue gown she had worn to the Ritz in 1942. She also wore her turquoise evening coat from the previous Christmas.

The Doctor wore his favourite "evening" attire - green velvet frock coat, blue wing-collared linen shirt, green and blue tapestry waistcoat, green silk cravat and dark grey linen trousers. They smiled at each other in admiration. After they'd told each other how wonderful the other looked, the Doctor offered Grace his arm and they left the TARDIS.

********

Berkeley Square was relatively quiet and they had a lovely walk. They paused by the statue of the nymph and gazed up at the sky and talked. It was beautiful, but soon, it was time for dinner.

********

Grace found it highly amusing that they were shown to a table in the same place as in 1942, but the Doctor insisted it was just a coincidence. Grace looked him straight in the eye and decided he was telling the truth. They laughed as he pulled out her chair. It was always a delight to enjoy dinner at the Ritz, but it was much better to NOT have the blackout up as before. The view out of the window was glorious and inside wasn't bad, either. Their waiter brought the wine list...

There were a few new additions to the menu that hadn't been there in 1942, of course, and Grace and the Doctor decided to give them a try. The food and wine were so good and they were so full, they needed a rest before dessert and, especially, before any dancing. But not too long after, the Doctor led Grace on to the dance floor and they danced to quite a few numbers, old and new. Round about midnight, they left to go back to the TARDIS and have a much needed rest. They made their way back through Berkeley Square for the second time that evening...

********

It was very quiet as they strolled through the square and quite nice. Even the ghost of No. 50 seemed asleep. They took the time to sit on one of the benches in companionable silence and to just take in the night. The Doctor still had the bag of truffles in his pocket and he and Grace had one or two each of the gaily-wrapped sweets whilst they relaxed. Half an hour or so later, they decided they'd best get back to the TARDIS and have a proper rest...

********

Back in the TARDIS, after they had changed out of their evening clothes and into their regular clothes - Grace into trousers and a comfortable dolman-sleeved top, and the Doctor into his usual green velvet, linen and silk, they sat in the console room and talked about a very extraordinary day. They were tired, but not sleepy. They were both too "keyed-up".

Round about 2am, the Doctor got a very crazy idea. He proposed they should go swimming in the Serpentine. He even went to the console and checked there were no "spy" cameras near the area where they would land. Grace protested it was probably illegal and too cold. The Doctor said it was very quiet out and no one would know they were even there and where was her "spirit of adventure"? As for it being too cold, he said he had a sort of generator with a hosepipe attachment that would warm up a small area of water near where the TARDIS would land. In the end, Grace had to admit, she was in the mood to do something different. So the Doctor landed the TARDIS on the bank as near to the water as he could and not long after, he and Grace were having a good old-fashioned "skinny-dip" in the Serpentine at 3 o'clock in the morning!

They were careful to not make too much noise - just in case. Still, it was all rather fun. They'd piled their clothes on the bank and had spent a good hour in the water - when trouble came to join them...

********

WPC Margot Sanford was walking along the Serpentine Road and reflecting on how much quieter it was than twenty-four hours ago. She also reflected that she had mixed feelings about that fact. The quiet was a relief, but in a way, she missed the excitement of the previous night. She also found herself thinking of the two people who'd so mysteriously disappeared the night before. She'd realised they probably hadn't been part of the protest and had probably just panicked. But where had they gone and how had they disappeared so quickly? She was pondering this mystery yet again, when she heard the weirdest noise. It was coming from her right and sounded like a snoring motorboat! It was clear somebody was doing something - probably something illegal, so she crept silently towards the weird noise...

Firstly, she encountered a tall blue hut of some sort, but she was so interested in what was causing the weird noise she didn't pay too much attention to the hut. She crept nearer to the water and gaped! There were the two people from the night before and they were shamelessly SKINNY-DIPPING! In the SERPENTINE! She backed off a bit and quietly called for back-up...

********

The Doctor and Grace - indulging in a bit of silliness, were trying to spin round in the water by lying on their stomachs and holding hands and manoeuvring themselves round with their legs -in a sort of "sky-diver's" manoeuvre. They'd just about got it sorted out - when they heard a distinct coughing. They looked up in consternation at the group of police officers - including the one the Doctor had seen from the protest march the night before, smirking and holding out blankets. A couple of other officers were bundling the Doctor's and Grace's clothing into bin bags.

One of the officers, trying hard not to laugh, said, 'Sir, Madam, you're under arrest. If you could both just please step out of the water and come along with us.'

The Doctor and Grace had no choice but to get out of the water and step into the proferred blankets, all the while listening to, 'You have the right to remain silent...'. They were then bundled into a police car and taken off to the police station...

********

The royal wedding celebratory party and buffet were still going strong at the station, when DCI Gerald Hayfield looked up to see two people wrapped in blankets being brought in. Two very WET people. He groaned. And to spoil his evening even further, the two people were arguing. Or rather, the woman was telling the man off and he was protesting his innocence over something. WPC Sanford stepped up and explained that the two people were caught skinny-dipping in the Serpentine. DCI Hayfield's first instinct was to burst out laughing, but he restrained himself and got on with taking statements from the two lunatics and following the rest of the arrest procedure.

In the meantime, the belongings of the two were being put into trays for them to collect later. They were escorted to a place where they could get dressed after their clothing had been searched. A bag of chocolate had been found in the man's pocket and, after being passed round between the officers, what remained was put on the buffet table.

In the end, since no real harm had been done, the Doctor and Grace were let off with a caution, but to the Doctor's extreme embarrassment and annoyance, DCI Hayfield said they would be retaining the Doctor's chocolate truffles to "teach him not to get any more bright ideas about skinny-dipping in public waters!" The Doctor started to protest, but decided not to make matters worse and grumpily began stuffing his other possessions back into his pockets. He was busy complaining about a beautiful day getting ruined by them getting arrested all over a little bit of swimming and couldn't he and Grace EVER have a trip to this area of London where something appalling DIDN'T happen and the officers had gone back to the television accounts of the royal wedding and Grace, after having dressed and reclaimed her own possessions, quietly sidled over to the buffet table and, unseen by anyone, slipped the bag of truffles into her trouser pocket.

In the meantime, the Doctor had finished restoring his possessions to his pockets, and still grumbling, asked Grace if she was ready to go. She said yes and they left the station to walk back to the TARDIS and to leave. All the way back, the Doctor alternated between apologising for the arrest and complaining about the Inspector taking his chocolate away from him! Grace cheered him up somewhat when she reminded him that no one had got hurt on this trip and that they hadn't been charged over the skinny-dipping after all.

'Of course, you're right! And, of course, I could buy more truffles,' He stated as he picked up the generator to take it back inside the TARDIS. 'but that's not the point! They shouldn't have taken mine away in the first place!' He sighed. 'I just want you to have a trip to Berkeley Square that doesn't involve any difficulties! That's not too much to ask. Is it, Grace?'

'No, of course not, and I take it for granted that you'll want to try again?' She grinned.

'Of course! But, we'll need to recover from this trip first!' He sighed. 'It was such a beautiful trip until it was ruined by us getting arrested! Just because we took a little swim! Honestly...'

Grace interrupted his tirade as they got to the TARDIS's door. 'Doctor?' He looked round at her. She was holding out the bag of truffles, grinning. 'I sneaked them away from the buffet table, while they were busy with the wedding recaps on television. I'll bet they STILL haven't missed them!'

The Doctor's grin could have powered the National Grid. 'Grace! Thank you! You're a treasure! What would I do without you!' He gave her an enthusiastic hug and kiss.

Grace replied, smiling, 'My pleasure!' And they went into the TARDIS with a happy ending after all.

FIN


End file.
